96 g of almond flour is 1 cup. Almond flour is far lighter than wheat flour per cup because it is ground nuts, not grain, and it packs loosely with plenty of air between the particles. A baker who swaps almond flour cup-for-cup with wheat flour without adjusting the weight will end up with a batter that is far too light on flour.
All figures on this page are approximate, and they come from King Arthur Baking, measured spooned and levelled. When a recipe has to work the first time, verify with a kitchen scale.
How the measurement works
The figure on this page comes from King Arthur Baking, measured spooned and levelled. Finely ground blanched almonds with a sweet, nutty flavour. Macarons, frangipane, financiers and gluten-free cakes.
A note on disputed figures. King Arthur lists 96 g per cup for blanched almond flour; coarser almond meal is lighter at about 84 g per cup.
All results on this page are approximate. Ingredient weights vary with brand, humidity, temperature and how firmly you pack the cup, so when a recipe has to work the first time, weigh the ingredient on a kitchen scale and use the numbers here as a guide.
Conversion table
| Cups | Grams of almond flour |
|---|---|
| 1/4 cup | 24 g |
| 1/3 cup | 32 g |
| 1/2 cup | 48 g |
| 2/3 cup | 64 g |
| 3/4 cup | 72 g |
| 1 cup | 96 g |
| 1 1/2 cups | 144 g |
| 2 cups | 192 g |
| 3 cups | 288 g |
| 4 cups | 384 g |
Quick reference: 100 g of almond flour is about 1.04 cups, and 50 g is about 0.52 cups. All figures are approximate; verify with a kitchen scale when it matters.
Three real kitchen examples
Macarons for a special occasion
A macaron recipe calls for 192 g of almond flour, which is 2 cups. Sift the almond flour with the powdered sugar first, because any lumps will show up as bumps on the finished shells. Weighing is strongly recommended here: macarons are one of the few recipes where a 10 g error in almond flour can mean the difference between smooth feet and cracked tops.
A gluten-free almond cake
An almond cake needs 144 g of almond flour, or 1 1/2 cups, folded into whipped eggs and sugar. The cake relies on the almond flour for both structure and flavour, so the amount matters. Spoon and level the flour into the cup rather than scooping, because almond flour compresses easily and a scooped cup can weigh 110 g or more.
Frangipane for a fruit tart
A frangipane filling uses 96 g of almond flour, exactly 1 cup, creamed with butter and sugar and an egg. The filling should be soft enough to spread but firm enough to hold sliced pears. If the almond flour is short, the filling will be runny and soak into the pastry; too much and it turns dry and crumbly.
Getting it right in your kitchen
Spoon the flour into the cup and level it off with a straight edge. Scooping straight from the bag packs the flour down and can add 20 g or more per cup, which is enough to turn a tender cake dry and dense. Do not sift before measuring unless the recipe says sifted, because sifting adds air and changes the weight. If you bake often, the single best upgrade is a kitchen scale: weighing flour removes the biggest source of variation in home baking entirely. Until then, spoon and level every time, and use the same cup for the whole recipe so any small error stays consistent.
Scaling is straightforward once you know the cup weight. Doubling a recipe that calls for 96 g of almond flour means measuring 192 g, or 2 cups, and tripling it means 288 g, or 3 cups. Halving is just as easy: half a cup is 48 g. The key is to scale every ingredient by the same factor, because changing one ingredient without changing the others throws the recipe out of balance. A cake scaled by half still needs half the flour, half the sugar, half the butter and half the almond flour, not just half of one of them. If you are scaling a recipe by an awkward factor, like two thirds, weigh the almond flour rather than trying to measure two thirds of a cup in a jug, because the jug markings are not precise enough for fractions of a cup.
When should you weigh almond flour instead of measuring it? Whenever the recipe has to work the first time, and whenever the amount is large. A kitchen scale costs less than a single failed cake, and it removes the biggest source of variation in home cooking: the way ingredients pack into a cup or a spoon. Put the bowl on the scale, press tare, and add the almond flour until the display shows the number you need. There is nothing to wash afterwards except the bowl, and the result is the same every time. For small amounts, a level spoon is accurate enough, and for liquids, a jug is fine, but for anything where precision matters, the scale is the tool to reach for.
Storage. Airtight container in the fridge or freezer to stop the oils turning.
- Sift almond flour before use in macarons and financiers.
- Store in the fridge or freezer to protect the nut oils.
- Spoon and level, never scoop, because it compresses easily.
Frequently asked questions
Is almond flour the same as almond meal?
No. Almond flour is finely ground blanched almonds with the skins removed, at 96 g per cup. Almond meal is coarser and includes the skins, and it is lighter at about 84 g per cup. They behave differently in fine baking, so check which one your recipe means.
Can I substitute almond flour for wheat flour cup for cup?
By volume, roughly, but the weights differ: a cup of wheat flour is 120 g and a cup of almond flour is 96 g. Almond flour also has no gluten, so cakes made with it need eggs or a binder for structure. For best results, use a recipe written for almond flour rather than converting a wheat recipe.
How do I measure almond flour accurately?
Spoon it into the cup and level it off. Never scoop, because almond flour packs down and a scooped cup can be 15 g heavy. For macarons and financiers, weigh it: a scale removes the biggest variable in the recipe.
Does almond flour absorb liquid like wheat flour?
No, it absorbs far less. Almond flour has no starch to swell, so batters made with it stay wetter. That is why almond cakes are moist, and also why you cannot simply replace wheat flour with almond flour in a bread recipe.
How should I store almond flour?
In an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. The oils in the ground nuts turn rancid at room temperature within a few months, and the flour will smell stale or bitter when it has gone off.
A note on cup sizes: every figure on this page uses the US cup, which holds 236.6 millilitres. A metric cup, used in Australia and some other countries, holds 250 millilitres, which is about six percent larger, so the same ingredient measured in a metric cup will weigh about six percent more. If your measuring cups are metric, multiply the gram figures here by 1.06, or better still, weigh the ingredient on a scale and skip the cup altogether. The scale does not care which country your cups came from.